1. Field
Embodiments relate to a refrigerator including a direct-cooling type ice-making unit, which may enhance ice making performance and reduce energy loss caused during an ice making operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a refrigerator includes a refrigerating compartment and a freezing compartment, which are separated from each other for optimum fresh storage of a variety of foods for a long time. The refrigerating compartment serves to keep food, such as vegetables, fruits, etc., at a temperature slightly above freezing. The freezing compartment serves to keep food, such as meats, fishes, etc., at a freezing temperature or less.
An icemaker is installed in the freezing compartment and serves to freeze water into ice using cold air that circulates in the freezing compartment.
The icemaker includes a tray in which water is frozen into ice, and a storage container for storage of ice.
Icemakers may be classified, based on ice making methods thereof, into an indirect cooling type icemaker, a tray of which is cooled by forcible convection of cold air supplied thereto so that water received in the tray is frozen into ice, and a direct cooling type icemaker. The direct cooling type includes a tray. Either the tray, or water received in the tray, comes into direct contact with a refrigerant pipe for ice making. Generally, an automatic icemaker for a domestic refrigerator is of an indirect cooling type, in which water supply, ice making, and ice separating operations are automatically carried out based on a temperature of a tray.
The above-described indirect cooling type icemaker adopts a relatively simple ice separating mechanism, simplified convenient cooling method, and easy manufacture thereof. However, due to the use of a high capacity heater for an ice separating operation, this type of icemaker may consume substantial electricity and increase the temperature of an ice-making chamber or a freezing compartment. Furthermore, the indirect cooling type icemaker may have low efficiency and tardy ice-making speed because cold air produced via heat exchange of an evaporator is forcibly circulated to cool the tray via operation of a blower fan.